WONDERINGS
For a moment Lieutenant Varley seemed to hesitate, and Alice felt sorry
for him. He was distinctly not of the type that would try to make an
acquaintance in this way just because Estelle was a pretty girl. He
seemed embarrassed and ill at ease. But he was not the sort of young man
to give up, once he thought he was right, as he obviously did in this
case. To do so, Alice felt sure he reasoned, would have been to
acknowledge that he was just the sort he seemingly was not.
"I really beg your pardon," he went on, in a firm but respectful tone.
"I am sure I have met you before. I do not wonder that you do not
remember me, but I cannot forget you. Yours isn't a face one easily
forgets," and he smiled genially, and in a manner to disarm criticism.
"But I never was in Portland," insisted Estelle, and it was plain that
she was puzzled by his persistence but not offended by it. "And I don't
remember ever having seen you before."
"Perhaps if I recall some of the circumstances to you it may bring back
the memory," suggested the lieutenant. "Believe me, I do not do it out
of mere idle curiosity, but you seemed in such distress at the time, and
so uncertain of where you wanted to go, that I really wished after I had
directed you that I had placed you in charge of the conductor of your
train."
"But I never was in Portland," said Estelle again, "and though I have
been in New York, I went there from Boston. Surely you have confused me
with some one else."
The young officer shook his head.
"I couldn't do that," he said with a smile that showed his white, even
teeth. "It was just about this time three--no, four years ago. I was in
Portland on business, and as I entered the railroad station you were
standing there----"
Estelle shook her head, smiling.
"Well, for the sake of argument," admitted the lieutenant, "say it was
some one who looked like you."
"All right," agreed Miss Brown, and she and Alice drew near the porch
railing, on the other side of which stood the officer with doffed hat.
"A young lady was standing there, and she seemed quite bewildered," went
on Lieutenant Varley. "I saw that she was in some confusion, and asked
if I could be of any service to her. She said she wanted to get to New
York, but did not know which train to take. I asked her if she had her
ticket, and she replied in the negative. I asked her if she wanted to
buy one, and she said she did, showing a purse well filled with
bills----"
"Then surely it could not have been I!" exclaimed Estelle with a merry
laugh. "I never had a purse well-filled with bills. We moving picture
players--at least in my class--don't go about like millionaires.
Gracious! I only wish I did have a well-filled purse, don't you, Alice?"
"Surely. But what else happened? I'm interested in the story."
"And I was interested in the young lady," went on the officer. "I bought
her ticket for her with the money she handed me, and put her on the
train. She was quite young--about as old as you"--and he smiled at
Estelle, "and I asked her if some one was going to meet her. She said
she thought so, but was not sure, at any rate she felt that she could
look after herself. I left her, and meant to speak to the conductor
about her, but did not have time.
"I have often wondered since whether she arrived safely, and when I saw
you sitting here I felt that I could ascertain. For I certainly took you
for that young lady."
"I am sorry to spoil your romance," said Estelle, "but I am not the one.
I never was farther West than Chicago, and then only for a little while,
filling a short engagement in the movies."
"Well, I won't insist on your identity," said the lieutenant, "but I'm
sure I'm not mistaken. However, I won't trouble you further----"
"Oh, it has been no trouble," interrupted Estelle. "I'm sure I hope you
will find that young lady some day."
"I hope so, too," and the lieutenant bowed. But, judging from his face,
Alice thought, it was plain that he was sure he had already found the
young lady in question.
At that moment Mr. Pertell came out on the porch and saw the lieutenant.
"Ah, I'm glad you are here," observed the manager. "I want to ask you a
great many things. This staging of sham battles is not as easy as I
thought it would be."
"We can have the sham battles all right," answered the officer, with a
smile. "But I can imagine it is not easy to get good moving pictures of
them. We have to operate over a large area, and we can't always tell
what the next move will be. Though, of course, for the purpose of making
views we can ignore military regulations and strain a point or two."
"That's just what I want to talk about," remarked Mr. Pertell. "In the
attack, for instance, the way the plans have been made the sun is wrong
for getting good views. Can't we switch the two armies around?"
"Well, I suppose we can. I'll speak to the colonel about it," and then
the two went inside, where Mr. Pertell had his office in the parlor of
the farmhouse.
"What do you think of him, Estelle?" asked Alice.
"Why, I think he's very nice, but he's altogether wrong about me."
"And yet he seemed so positive."
"Yes, that is what makes it strange. But I never saw him before--that
is, as far as I know; and I'm certain I was never in Portland. He must
be mistaken, but it was nice of him to admit it. I thought at first he
was using the old method to get acquainted."
"So did I. But he isn't that kind."
"He doesn't seem to be."
Russ Dalwood came around the corner of the porch with Paul Ardite and
Hal Watson, a young man lately engaged to play juvenile roles. Hal had
become very friendly with the little group that circled around Ruth and
Alice.
"You girls have an hour yet before you go on," Russ informed them. "We
haven't anything to do until then, either. Want to take a run in to
town? I've got to call at the express office for some extra film, and
the auto is ready. Where's Ruth?"
"Up in her room. I'll go for her," offered Alice. "Shall we have time?"
"Plenty. You can even buy yourself some candy--or let us do it for you,"
laughed Paul.
"We'll let you do it!" said Estelle, as Alice hastened to summon her
sister.
"Ruth! Ruth! where are you?" called Alice, as she ran upstairs--Alice
seldom walked.
"Here, just reading over my new part. What's the matter?"
"We're going for an auto ride with the boys. Come along. You can study
in the car."
"Yes, a lot of studying I could do under those circumstances. But I'll
come--I want a bit of diversion. Who else is going?"
Alice told her, and then spoke about the young lieutenant.
"Wasn't it queer he should be mistaken?" she asked.
Ruth did not reply for a moment.
"Wasn't it?" repeated her sister.
"I was just wondering," said Ruth, slowly. "Was it?"